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channel loop or just whoopies?

It's a personal preference thing.
The advantage of the loop is that you can easily remove the whoopie and still have the gathered channel intact.

Why would you need to remove the whoopie? Maybe you have more than one hammock and want to use the same whoopie for all of them. Or, your whoopie gets wet in the field and you want to pack it separately.

Some folks like to use a Dutch Whoopie Hook between the whoopie and the loop as a water stop.

On the other hand, no loop fits into an ultralight approach of squeezing every gram out of your pack.

Also, keeping the channel loops allows you to "by-pass" the whoopies in a "close-quarters" hang. Attaching your straps directly to the channel loops will greatly reduce the minimum distance you'll need between trees (in a pinch--not for everyday use).

If the channel loops are made of big and/or bulky cordage (I'm sure your BIAS hiker lite has ultra-lite channel loops, but I don't know which hammock you're modifying), you could replace them with continuous loops made of amsteel or something similar. Best of luck!

"Pips"

Mountains have a dreamy way
Of folding up a noisy day​In quiet covers, cool and gray.

Why would you need to remove the whoopie? Maybe you have more than one hammock and want to use the same whoopie for all of them. Or, your whoopie gets wet in the field and you want to pack it separately.

On the other hand, no loop fits into an ultralight approach of squeezing every gram out of your pack.

This is why I asked. I hadn't given thought about packing wet/damp whoopies in with everything else. A point to consider.

But I think I'm going to live on the edge and loose the channel loops.

Also, keeping the channel loops allows you to "by-pass" the whoopies in a "close-quarters" hang. Attaching your straps directly to the channel loops will greatly reduce the minimum distance you'll need between trees (in a pinch--not for everyday use).

If the channel loops are made of big and/or bulky cordage (I'm sure your BIAS hiker lite has ultra-lite channel loops, but I don't know which hammock you're modifying), you could replace them with continuous loops made of amsteel or something similar. Best of luck!

Another good point I hadn't considered, though in a pinch the closed loop end of the whoopie could play the role of channel loop.

Another good point I hadn't considered, though in a pinch the closed loop end of the whoopie could play the role of channel loop.

That doesn't sound like it will work. The continuous loop in the channel is gathering the ends of the hammock, as would the fixed loop of the whoopie. If you then uncinch the whoopie so you can hang from the fixed loop, your hammock ends will no longer be gathered.